Firehouse To Tavern: Proof 124 Table & Tavern Open In Downtown Lawrenceburg

Wednesday, June 10, 2020 at 10:16 AM

The Old Firehouse in downtown Lawrenceburg is vacant no more.

Proof 124 Table & Tavern is now open in downtown Lawrenceburg. Photo by Travis Thayer, Eagle Country 99.3.

(Lawrenceburg, Ind.) - It took a year, but Proof 124 Table & Tavern is open in downtown Lawrenceburg.

The new bar and restaurant, located in the Old Firehouse at 124 Short Street, opened its doors to the public on Monday.

Built in 1800's, the former station had stables at the rear of the building, which housed a horse-drawn pumper to assist at fire scenes. Now, it features a modern American restaurant and a future 21 and up bourbon bar.

Development started last spring after the Lawrenceburg Redevelopment Commission voted to approve an agreement to turn the long-vacant firehouse into a restaurant. At the time, the expectation was for the new restaurant and bar to open by March 2020.

Proof 124 Table & Tavern owner, Daren Harris tells Eagle Country 99.3 that he was set to open the day after Lawrenceburg Main Street's annual St. Patty's Day Pub Crawl.

However, COVID-19 concerns caused the event to be cancelled and businesses started shutting down, but for Harris, maybe that was a blessing in disguise.

“God has put us in this place," said Harris. "Somebody was watching out above for us. There have been a lot of stumbling blocks and obstacles. We’ve been trying to open this restaurant for a year."

According to developer Hrezo Engineering of Greendale, the delay gave additional time for crews to refine their work and get further ahead than they would have been in March. That includes indoor work and putting up the frame for an upstairs outdoor patio.

"In hindsight, the delay helped," said project manager Mike Hrezo.

From developer to owner, everyone involved in the project has taken a tremendous amount of pride in preserving the history of the building from a firefighting perspective.

"This is the neatest project and most fun we've taken on," said Hrezo. "I take a lot of personal pride in the project considering the history of the building."

Harris expressed a similar sentiment, especially considering his family has dedicated their lives to servicing the community.

“It is incredibly special for our family to move into that building," said Harris. "I am a police officer, my brother in law is a police officer, my other brother in law is a fireman, my son in law is a fireman, my wife is a nurse and she was an EMT. Public service has been our whole families’ life. We understand and appreciate the building, the history, what it has stood for, what it means to people in the community. It is super important for us to maintain the integrity of that building and do the right thing for our community and continue the community service in a different way, as a restaurant.”

Photo by Travis Thayer, Eagle Country 99.3.

Aside from policing northern Kentucky, Harris went to culinary school at Midwest Culinary Institute in Cincinnati. He says his cooking style as a chef is modern American.

Menu items range from burgers to gator to fried fish.

"It's food that you are familiar with that we do in different ways," said Harris. "Our food, our menu is very approachable. Our pricing is good, its consistent, it’s fair. The quality of food that you get for what you pay is on target.”

Harris added that his philosophy is to be a restaurant where folks can come in the community and they can come a couple times a week.

"If you are on your way home from baseball practice and you don’t feel like cooking, we want people to say let’s go see Daren and Amy. That’s the kind of relationship we want to build."

Proof 124 Table & Tavern will also be a nice spot to relax and enjoy an adult beverage, featuring over 60 bourbons, craft beer and wine. The number of bourbons is expected to increase.

“We’re going to try and bring a little of our Kentucky influence and share that," said Harris. "I don’t want to call it an influence because we have a pretty strong influence here in Lawrenceburg. We’ll kind of bring some of our Kentucky tradition over there."

The upstairs portion of the building will be a 21 and over bourbon bar. Hrezo tells Eagle Country 99.3 that plans are being made to feature an old single cell jail that remains from the building's days as the first City Hall.

The upstairs outdoor patio will be available for anyone to enjoy upon completion. However, the deck won't be completed until the fall after Music on the River and other Civic Park events and activities finish up.

"Along with the City, we don't want any construction going on with families and kids close by," said Hrezo.

Kids have already flocked to the splash pad just feet from where construction would take place. Hundreds and in some cases thousands of people will be in the area when Civic Park events start this month.

For Harris, he's excited about being located by the Civic Park and the extra foot traffic it brings, but acknowledged that event days could be a little overwhelming in the beginning.

"When you only got so many seats and there are 10 times that many people coming all at once on nights we have concerts and things like that, it’s going to be pretty crazy," said Harris. "We’re really going to have to get the ticket times stepped up for stuff like that. We’re just going to have to learn our way through that.”

Community members aren't waiting for events to start to try Proof 124 Table & Tavern. Just two days after opening, Harris had to restock his refrigerators on Wednesday morning.

“My wife and I are super excited to be a part of the Lawrenceburg community," said Harris. "It has taken our hearts. The charm of the town, the vision, the growth and everything that is going on. We are excited to be a part of it and we are thankful to everybody who has helped us move forward with the project. Hopefully, it’s a long wonderful future. We don’t have any plans of going anywhere.”